I’ve been moved recently by Mark Virkler’s book on how to hear God’s voice. Here’s an excerpt I found to be a powerful reminder…

Prayer is our link to God, and therefore, the most important activity we can engage in. Prayer is supposed to be powerful, effective, and meaningful in our lives. Yet many times it is nothing more than a dutiful recitation of the items on our prayer list. We need to learn how to make prayer what it should be —a dynamic dialogue with the Lover of our souls. Of paramount importance is learning to break free from the prison of rationalism (an over emphasis on reason) in which Western culture is locked. We must relearn how to have spiritual experiences —experiences that come from God’s Spirit to my spirit and only secondarily to my brain. We must return to the balance that was so beautifully expressed in Jesus’ life Who did nothing on His own initiative, but only what He heard and saw the Father doing (John 5: 19,20,30). The following are the things I needed to learn for prayer to become purposeful in my life: 

• I can have a relationship with God through spiritual experiences rather than the dry monologue of simple mental prayer. 
• The essence of prayer is my love relationship with the King of Kings, not simply going to Him to get things. 
• The main purpose for learning to hear God’s voice is so that I might really know Him —His heart, His joys, His desires, His hurts, His character, His will. 
• The principles from the Bible that relate to prayer and the spiritual realm provide direction and understanding as I travel the road of spiritual experiences. 
• The Holy Spirit will mold my prayer life, instead of me taking the principles of prayer God has shown me and reducing them to legalistic bondage. 
• Spirit-born specific action and power flow as a natural result of my love relationship, causing the activities of my life to be of the Spirit and not the flesh. This keeps my relationship with the King of Kings from being simply self-indulgent on my part and helps me to realize that many others need to be touched by His love also.